Adam Myerson's Ridley X-Fire

Ridley X-Fire

1 / 12

For the 2011-2012 'cross season Myerson’s riding Ridley's carbon-fiber X-Fire frame (1,250 grams). It features a tapered headtube that's complemented by a 4ZA Oryx full-carbon monocoque fork. Notable about Ridleys is their relatively high bottom brackets. The X-Fire has six centimeters of drop, which helps when pedaling out of turns. You get on the gas sooner, says Myerson. “Like a good criterium bike, a high bottom bracket means you can pedal through turns without hitting the ground, and it’s good for hopping barriers, too.”

Also, Ridley’s shorter top tubes made Myerson opt to ride a longer stem, a 125-millimeter, which makes handling more stable. “The combo of the shallow head angle and long stem means you get this sort of full commitment in the corners, and you can get a lot of weight on the front wheel. I love the level top tube, which allows for lots of room in the triangle for carrying.”